March 3rd, 2023

To our Bemidji State University students,

The hate and violent threats our Black students are facing in Bemidji are unacceptable and appalling.

It is unacceptable to expect our Black students - and all students who experience racism - to go on with their lives, return to the classroom, get good grades, go to work, and act normal after perpetuated threats of violence. For many students, the experiences of hostility, violence, and disparities are on their own campuses. Today, that campus is Bemidji. Our students deserve better. Students deserve to be safe and thrive on campus. Black Lives Matter.

We want to acknowledge that resources are not the solution to acts and threats of racism but are vital in providing spaces of support for those affected. We want to offer any space and avenue for students, faculty, and staff to find the assistance they need when they experience and witness such profound hate (specifically spaces that lie outside traditional reporting methods and police departments). Here are two crisis support call lines available for anyone to use:

• The Racial Equity Support Line: https://www.linesforlife.org/get-help-now/services-and-crisis-lines/racial-equity-support-line/

• The Blackline Crisis Call Line: https://www.callblackline.com

For anyone looking for resources around racial trauma and healing in the aftermath of these events, the University of Pittsburg offers a helpful list: https://www.studentaffairs.pitt.edu/cc/resources/racial-trauma-self-care-resources/

Students United is the representative body of all Minnesota State University students, and we take that responsibility very seriously. If there are tangible ways we can connect with you or support you, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. You can contact our Director of Student Leadership and Equity, Meg, at mbartlettchase@studentsunited.org or reach out to us at info@studentsunited.org.

Sincerely,

Students United staff